PharmaSwiss to distribute Gentium's defibrotide in CEE and other countries

Italian drugmaker Gentium SpA (Nasdaq: GENT) has appointed PharmaSwiss, a division of Canada’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (TSX: VRX), as the exclusive distributor of defibrotide, used for the treatment or prevention of hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), in Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is valid for 10 years, PharmaSwiss will be responsible for managing named-patient requests and achieving price and reimbursement approvals in these territories. Following regulatory approval to market defibrotide, if any, PharmaSwiss will be responsible for sales, marketing and local medical affairs activities in these countries. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Commenting on the partnership with PharmaSwiss, Adrian Haigh, senior vice president of commercial operations at Gentium GmbH, said: "We are pleased to have established a long-term relationship with PharmaSwiss for the distribution of defibrotide in various Central, Southern and Eastern European countries, which is consistent with our overall commercial strategy to partner with strong local distributors. By entering into this agreement, we now have local distribution channels for defibrotide in all European territories including Nordics, South, Central, East and Western Europe. Our experience has shown that local distribution partners facilitate earlier and easier access to defibrotide, this is very important for this potentially life-saving treatment."